This Is Almost Sparta
by faffrin the great
Summary: Melody Tolin is a loner. She hunts monsters, protects the innocent, stays nowhere and never looks back. But then a strange boy begins appearing in every town she passes through, and her life begins to change... maybe for the better.
1. And So It Begins

Chapter One: And So It Begins

Melody Tolin was a misfit among misfits.

She knew it was common for demigods to have trouble fitting in with ordinary mortals, but she... she didn't fit in among half-bloods, either. A misfit among misfits.

For years, oh, so many years, she had stayed home, with her father, her stepmother, her half-sister. Her family.

Those days were over.

Now, there was only survival and training.

That was why she was crouched in the branches of an ancient tree, with a hand-made arrow nocked in a hand-made longbow, aiming carefully at the minotaur's jugular.

She let the arrow fly.

It swooshed harmlessly past the monster.

Melody silently cursed in Latin. Archery wasn't her strong point.

And to make matters worse, now the minotaur knew she was there.

The monster whirled around, snorting, and tried to find the source of the failed attack. Melody sat perfectly still, hoping that the cow's terrible eyesight would save her.

Unfortunately for her, it began sniffing the air. She knew she couldn't hide her scent.

_Oh well, _she thought,_might as well get this over with. Don't want the cow getting any kind of advantage._

So she jumped down from the tree, landing gracefully in a crouch. Her bow fell to the ground beside her as she pulled a small ring from her finger. As she pressed the speckled green stone embedded in the band of celestial bronze, there was an audible _snap! _and the ring straightened into an olive wood quarterstaff.

The minotaur snorted at her and stamped, preparing to charge.

Melody smirked and waited.

The huge monster let out a bellow and galloped toward her, lowering its head.

Melody jerked the staff, and a long, glowing blade of celestial bronze slid out of one end. A quick shake, and the soft click of the locking mechanism reached her ears. She planted the other end of the staff against the trunk of the tree behind her.

The minotaur didn't have time to slow down; its considerable momentum carried it halfway down the olive shaft of the trick weapon. The blood-painted blade protruded from the monster's back. The creature bellowed in pain and slumped over, pulling the staff down, along with Melody, who couldn't even imagine supporting the behemoth's alarming bulk. She tugged at her weapon, finally pulling it free with a burst of monster dust.

"And that, kids," she remarked to the minotaur's hate-filled eyes, "is why we don't _eat _innocent people. Especially not when I'm around."

The minotaur dissolved into dust.

Melody retrieved her bow, turned her staff back into a ring, and walked calmly away.

- Late that night, Melody stood in a graveyard. Not because she knew anyone who was buried there, but just to pay her respects to the dead in general.

After all, she would be among them someday. She had nearly joined them many times already.

Her arms were filled with fresh marigolds, and she placed them at the headstones, one for each person.

Suddenly a voice spoke from the shadows of the mausoleum.

"You make them confused, you know."

Melody whirled around to face the speaker. He was in his early teens, and thin, with silky black hair, dark eyes, and pale olive skin. A black sword hung at his side, and a silver skull ring flashed in the moonlight as he gestured at the graves and continued speaking.

"They don't understand why a stranger would be so kind to them. After all, they're dead, and you never knew them." He smiled. They're confused - but happy."

Melody said nothing. She just continued placing marigolds on the graves.

"Why do you do it?" the boy asked. "I'm a bit baffled myself. What is it that makes you so respectful of the dead?"

Melody gritted her teeth. "That's none of your damn business."

The boy in the shadows looked at Melody in silence, trying to assess her. She had shoulder-length black hair, raggedly cut and covering one eye, and she wore all black clothes. Ratty black t-shirt, frayed charcoal shorts, dark leggings that had seen better days, fingerless black gloves with metal plates riveted to the backs, even a pair of black combat boots. A small ring glowed softly on the middle finger of her right hand. Her skin was lightly tanned, amd her one visible eye was a brilliant aquamarine. Her arms were covered in small scars, but they didn't look self-inflicted. She was leanly muscled, not bulky like a body builder, but not weak, either. She was a bit on the short side, but somehow, that didn't make her any less intimidating.

Melody looked up sharply. "Could you please stop staring?" she snapped at the strange boy.

His reply was strangely calm. "Could you please answer my question? Why do you care so much about dead strangers?"

Melody snarled in clear annoyance.

The boy sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to upset you. I'm just curious."

"Well, go away. Interrogate someone else."

"Alright. I'm sorry I upset you."

When she looked up again, he was gone.


	2. Just Another Day

Chapter Two: Just Another Day

Melody groaned as sunlight fell on her eyelids, waking her up. She stretched, wincing as rough tree bark dug into her back. _Sleeping in trees kinda sucks, _she decided. But it was better than the ground, so...

She unbuckled the belt with which she had strapped herself to the tree branch, sat up, and stretched again. "I hate mornings," she said to nobody in particular.

A new day, a new town, a new monster. People to save who didn't know they needed saving. Graves to visit, respects to pay, and by dinnertime she'd be gone, but it wouldn't matter, because nobody would know she had been there in the first place.

She preferred it that way.

She sat on the branch for a while, watching for something small, fuzzy, and breakfasty to wander by.

Eventually, she grew tired of waiting, and decided to have a vegetarian breakfast. She climbed down the tree and set about gathering roots and leaves.

After eating a slightly wilted dandelion salad, Melody decided to get into trouble. That, after all, was her specialty.

It was almost noon before she found anything worth getting into. After following mundane animal tracks for hours on end, she spotted a trail she knew all too well. It was slithery, reptilian, and really really big, not to mention everything around it was dead.

"Hydra," she whispered.

She didn't follow it right away; hydras, while easy to follow, are notorious for killing unprepared adventurers. So she gathered firewood. When she had enough, she made a torch and went off in search of the monster.

Finding it didn't take long; the trail wasn't exactly straight, but once she got close enough, she could find it by the smell alone.

Before long, she was crouched in the underbrush several yards from the mouth of a cave. It was the closest cover there was to the hydra's lair; everything beyond had been killed by the monster's poison. The place reeked of death and decay.

Melody pulled a flint and steel from her pocket and lit her makeshift torch. She slipped the ring from her finger with the thumb of the same hand, at the same time pressing the stone. She flicked the staff before it had finished expanding, sending the glowing blade out with a soft _click._ Then she picked up a makeshift rope she had braided from long, green grass and tied the torch to the other end of the staff.

"Showtime," she said quietly.

She slipped silently out of the undergrowth, weapon in hand. As she neared the mouth of the cave, she could hear the hydra's hissing breath.

She knew better than to fight a hydra in a small enclosed space, so she whistled sharply and shouted, "Yo, Ugly!" to draw it out.

A serpentine head flashed toward her, and she barely managed to sidestep in time. She spun her staff, the blade at one end slicing cleanly through the monster's neck, then the torch at the other end singing the flesh so more heads wouldn't grow. Another head shot out of the cave, jaws snapping, and got the same treatment. There was a moment of stillness.

A wet scraping sound came from the cave, and the hydra appeared, dragging its fat, slimy body along, its bloated belly scraping the ground as its lizard legs struggled against its weight. Its mass of heads writhed and hissed.

Melody wrinkled her nose at it. "You're disgusting," she informed the monster. One of the heads hissed, and she caught sight of something that made her very, _very _angry.

Something was caught between the monster's huge fangs. Something small and pink that looked suspiciously like a little girl's shoe.

The next head struck at Melody. She struck back, then went on, no longer waiting for the hydra to strike first, but just decapitating and burning whatever was within reach. She showed no mercy.

Eventually, every head had been severed, and the hydra's body collapsed limply and dissolved into dust. Melody stood over it, panting, and glared. Then she looked up at the sun and realized with a start that it was mid-afternoon. She had lost track of time while caught up in murderous rage. She trudged back to the forest, climbed into a tree, strapped herself to a branch, and dozed off for a few hours.

When she woke again, the sun was setting. She sighed, undid the belt, and climbed down, then made her way toward the town at the forest's edge.

First she went to a small cafe and bought something cheap to eat. Normally she would hunt for her food, as she didn't have much money, but the local wildlife might not be safe. After all, there had been a hydra nesting nearby.

Then she went to the local florist and bought an armful of marigolds.

The final stop was the cemetery.

She stepped through the rusty gates, noting that the hinges had recently been oiled. The graves were pristine, and many had flowers on them, presumably left by grieving friends and family. But many more had been given nothing.

Melody walked between the graves, distributing marigolds. Then she drooped one by accident.

"Cantet!" she snarled at herself. "Cantet et miseria!" She crouched to pick up the fallen bloom.

Another hand reached for the flower at the same time. A pale, olive-tinted hand bearing a silver skull ring.

Melody froze as the mysterious boy from yesterday scooped up the marigold and set it gently on a grave. " 'Cantet et miseria'?" he inquired politely.n"May I ask what that means?"

Melody looked up at him distrustfully. Instead of answering, she demanded, "Why are you stalking me?"

"I'm not stalking you, although I can see how you might get that impression."

"What do you want, son of Hades?"

The boy looked impressed. "How'd you know?"

Melody snorted. "It wasn't hard to figure out. You're wearing a sword made of Stygian steel. You appear out of nowhere and disappear without a trace. And you apparently talk to dead people."

The boy nodded, then added, "But what if I had been a son of Pluto? I might have been offended."

"Had you been a son of Pluto, you wouldn't have asked me what " 'cantet et miseria' means."

"You never did answer," he noted.

"Why should I?" Melody inquired coldly.

Nico sighed. "If you answer my questions, I'll tell you why I'm here."

Melody groaned inwardly. He probably didn't know just how tempting that was to her. _Curiosity killed the cat, _she remembered her father telling her._But satisfaction brought it back, _added her own remembered voice. She had always been curious, always certain that every question had an answer, and desperate to know what that answer was.

"Fine," she said. " 'Cantet et miseria' means 'crows and misery'. Happy?"

"What about my question from yesterday?"

Melody glared at the strange boy, still suspicious and distrustful. _Give the poor guy a chance! _whispered her shoulder angel._What's he ever done to you? He's just as curious as you are. Maybe you're not so different!_

Melody's shoulder devil was quick to retort._ And what of he's just like all the rest? What if he's just a worthless primate who mocks you and refuses to understand?_

_ Then I can handle that, _Melody thought.

"I do this," she said carefully, "because I was always taught to be respectful, especially to those who are rarely respected. The dead are often forgotten. Nobody cares about most of the people in this graveyard anymore. But the fact that they're dead doesn't excuse it."

"That's right," agreed the strange boy quietly. "It doesn't." Then he suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

"Melody," she replied. "Melody Tolin. And you?"

"Nico di Angelo," he answered, holding out his hand. She shook it reluctantly.

"You still haven't told me why you're stalking me," she noted.

"I'm not stalking you," Nico replied. "The dead just asked me to ask you some things."

"Like?"

"They have a lot of questions. Maybe you should come to the Underworld so they can ask you themselves."

"The Underworld..." Melody mused. "I've never been there..." She looked up at Nico. "But why should I trust you?"

"Why shouldn't you?"

"I don't trust _anyone _who hasn't earned it."

Nico sighed. "How do I earn your trust?"

"By not killing me on the way to the Underworld."

Nico grinned. "Sounds good to me." He took Melody's hand - she almost yelped in surprise - and led her to a deep shadow cast by a tree... then _through_ it.

Melody had always wondered what shadow-traveling was like.

It. Was. Awesome.


	3. Meeting with the Dead

Chapter Three: Meeting with the Dead

Melody looked around with interest. She had never seen the Underworld before, but it was very similar to the way she had imagined it. Dark, gloomy, and full of dead people.

"Cool," she murmured. "I'm in the Underworld." She grinned. "Dad would be _so _jealous." Then her smile abruptly vanished, and she looked at the ground.

A papery rustling caught her attention, and she looked back up to see Nico, a few paces away, dumping the contents of a McDonalds bag into a shallow pit. She watched, fascinated, as several shades drifted closer. Nico began murmuring something, and some of the shades bent down and reached into the pit.

Nico walked back over to Melody, watching her reaction as the shades solidified. She watched them wih childlike wonder.

A woman in her twenties with curly brown hair approached them. "Are you the kind young lady who put the marigold on my grave?"

Melody looked at the woman thoughtfully. Then her eyes brightened. "Oh! Yes, I remember, your picture was engraved on your headstone."

The woman nodded, smiling. "It had been decades since anyone visited my grave." She placed a ghostly hand on Melody's shoulder. "Thank you, whoever you might be."

More ghostly figures approached, smiling, and thanked her. "Don' nobody care 'bout no dead strangers," said one elderly man, who appeared to have been a farmer. "Nobody 'cept you." He grinned and walked away.

Melody's eyes slowly filled with tears as more and more deceased spirits thanked her for caring. She had never expected thanks for what she did, and yet so many people were now teling her how grateful they were.

Then, suddenly, the crowd began to part, and a little girl came through to stand in front of Melody. "You saved my friends," the girl said.

Melody looked down, momentarily confused, and then realized that the girl was wearing familiar-looking pink shoes.

A starled, sad sound tore itself from Melody's throat. "Oh... The hydra..."

The little girl stared up at Melody with huge, awe-filled eyes. "You killed the monster that killed me. It can't eat my friends now."

"But... I was too late to sve _you..."_

The little girl smiled. "But you saved everyone else." She began counting people off on her fingers. "You saved Mommy, and Daddy, and my big brother Timmy, and my friend Lester, and _all _the people in Brookville!" She spread her arms out and stood on her toes to express the magnitude of Melody's achievement.

Melody couldn't help but smile at the little girl. She was just so cute.

Then the little girl reached into her pocket and pulled something out. She held her small fist out to Melody and said, "You can have this."

Melody crouched down and put her hand under the little girl's. The girl opened her hand and a fine silver chain spiled over Melody's slender fingers. Hanging from the chain was a round silver locket with a bird engraved on it.

"It's not magical or anything," the little girl told Melody, "but it sure is pretty."

Melody blinked, sending tears running down her face. "It's beautiful," she agreed. She slipped the delicate chain over her head, and the locket came to rest over her heart. "Thank you," she said, giving the little girl a brief, gentle hug. Then she stood up to see the crowd of ghosts smiling at her.

"Well," Nico said suddenly, "I should take Melody back to the world of the living now."

Many of the ghosts murmured in disappointment as Nico held out his hand to Melody. She took it, and he led her back through the shadows as she tried very hard not to notice that his hand was warm and gentle around hers.

She failed.

Back in the world of the living, Nico released Melody's hand and asked, "Just out of curiosity, where are you going next?"

"I thought you weren't stalking me," she joked.

Nico laughed quietly. "I was just thinking... you seem like you need a friend." He smiled crookedly. "I'm happy to volunteer."

Melody surprised herself by actually thinking about it. "I... maybe," she said. "I'm just... I'm so used to being alone."

Nico nodded in understanding. "I know what that's like," he said. "I've been alone for a while, too."

Melody sighed. "Alright. Just don't slow me down," she teased.

"Slow you down?" He scoffed. "Please. I can shadow-travel."

Melody smirked. "Shadow-travel is for when you have a specific destination in mind. I don't."

"So... we're walking?"

"Yup."

"How far?"

"Until I feel like stopping."

Nico knew one thing for sure; traveling with Melody was going to be interesting, to say the least.


	4. Strange New Friend

Chapter Four: Strange New Friend

Melody woke up the next morning, once again in an uncomfortable tree. But surprisingly, she felt... good. She was well rested for once, and it was a beautiful morning.

_Woah, _she thought._Those two words do not __belong in close proximity to each other. Mornings are _never_____ beautiful._

But it was.

After detaching herself from the tree, Melody did a backflip and landed in a crouch a few feet from where Nico lay sleeping on the ground. He looked so peaceful...

So she poked him with a stick.

He grunted sleepily and rolled over.

"Get up," Melody commanded.

"I don't wanna..." he mumbled groggily.

Melody sighed. "We have to move. If we stay here, monsters will find us."

Nico sat up suddenly. "Monsters? Where..." He looked around and, seeing nothing, turned to Melody, who was biting her lip trying not to laugh. "What...?" he asked.

"You awake now?" Melody asked. "It's time to go."

"Oh..." Nico said. "Okay."

As he stood up, Melody noticed a piece of leaf stuck in his hair. She had a sudden, intense urge to pluck it out.

Suddenly very irritated with herself, she jabbed him in the ribs with the stick. "Move it, slowpoke," she said. Nico held up his hands in a gesture of surrender and started walking.

"So..." he began after a while, "If you're not going anywhere in particular, how do you know which way to go?"

"I seem to have an internal compass of some sort which points me toward trouble."

Nico frowned. "Maybe I should pick the direction."

"I'm actually _looking_ for trouble. You're welcome to leave, if you'd like."

"I'm good."

Melody was glad to hear it, for which she mentally kicked herself. Viciously.

_I will not go soft!_ she mentally commanded herself._Just because some guy comes along and decides to travel with me doesn't change anything! Even if he is nice... and kinda funny... and really, really good-looking..._

_ I will _not___ go soft!_

Then she saw something.

She caught Nico's arm and pointed. "Look," she said quietly.

Nico looked. "It appears to be some sort of shrub," he said. "What about it?"

"Something ran through it."

"What kind of something?"

"Hmmm..." Melody contemplated the plant for a moment. "Something... breakfasty?"

Nico gave her an amused look. "Is that even a word?"

"It's a Tolin word. My dad invented it." She moved closer to the shrub and prodded the end of one of the broken branches. "Ooh!" she exclaimed. "It's still oozing sap! I might be able to catch up!" She ran off, saying, "Wait here!'

Nico watched her go, and shook his head, smiling slightly. "She's strange," he told a nearby tree. "But in a good way."

And he waited.

A few minutes later, she came back, dragging a dead deer by its large antlers. Nico jumped up when he saw her and ran over to help.

"I caught it," she said, grinning like a maniac. "Well, sort of. I snuck up behind it and took it down with a shuriken."

"A what?"

She rolled her eyes, laughing. "Ninja star, to you white people."

Nico raised an eyebrow at her. "What color do you think _you _are?"

"I'm ninja-colored."

"What does _that _mean?"

"It means I'm awesome."

"Oh, _really?"_

"How many people do you know who cam sneak up on a deer?"

"Fair point... So why exactly are you a ninja?"

She chuckled. "Because my stepmom was an anime fanatic."

"That reminds me.. I never did find out who your Olympian parent is."

Melody's smile vanished as her good mood evaporated. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Oh. Sorry."

"It's okay. Y'know," she said, pointing at the deer, "we should cook this."

* * *

"I'm so full..." Melody groaned and stretched. "It's not even noon yet and I already wanna take a nap."

Nico gave her an amused look. "A nap? Seriously?"

Melody glared. "When you live on the run from monsters, getting a full night's sleep all at once is dangerous. So yes, I take naps."

Nico smiled. "Melody Tolin, you are strange. Very, very strange."

"Thanks," Melody said without a trace of sarcasm. "I'm gonna go to sleep now."

Nico yawned. "I think I will, too."

And so they did.


	5. Mad Ninja Skills

Chapter Five: Mad Ninja Skills

Melody awoke suddenly, certain she had heard something. She looked around, alarmed. She heard it again: a soft but distinct rustling of leaves under paws.

Melody lay still, keeping her breathing slow and even, pretending to be asleep, as she tried to pinpoint the source of the sound.

Several yards away, Nico shifted and murmured in his sleep.

Melody cursed silently. He would be a sleep mumbler, wouldn't he?

_Snap!_

Whatever was out there had stepped on a twig. Melody knew where it was now, but she kept pretending to be asleep. If it was a monster, and it knew that she knew, it would attack. It would think it had surprise on its side, but really, the advantage was hers, as long as it believed her simple trick...

She carefully placed her thumb above her ring and down her finger, sliding the warm metal band into her palm. She barely opened one eye, hoping to catch a glimpse of her potential foe.

There was a flash of human skin and animal fur. Definitely a magical creature, then. And one that appeared part human...

She peered carefully through her eyelashes again, and caught a glimpse of movement.

Feline.

Her heart began to pound. She could only think of one thing it could be, and it wasn't good. But she couldn't jump to conclusions; it could be something unfamiliar. It wasn't time to panic yet.

One more peek revealed exactly what she feared to see. A scorpion tail, tipped with bristling spikes. It was pulled back, ready to strike...

And aimed at Nico's sleeping form.

The tail snapped forward, sending a poisoned spike flying toward Nico. Melody sprang up and flew over to Nico, throwing herself between the spike and him. An explosion of pain in her side announced the success of her rather stupid plan.

She landed with a grunt as Nico's eyes flew open. She didn't stop to explain, just got up and yanked the spike out of her throbbing side, then turned to face the manticore.

Behind her, Nico stood up as well. "Thorn," he said.

The manticore snarled. "You, di Angelo, will die at my claws," he growled.

"Not on my watch, he won't," Melody snarled in reply.

The manticore sneered. "You? You are _tiny."_

Melody pressed the green stone on her ring. "I," she growled as the staff grew in her hands, "am well trained in the art of killing."

The monster laughed. "The 'art' of killing? You amuse me, tiny hero. What will you do to me with such a weapon? Poke me to death?" He laughed.

Melody flicked her staff. _Click._

"Y'know," she said, "I may do just that."

Thorn snarled in surprise. "What sort of weapon is _that?"_

"Oh, it's just a brandistock." She grinned wickedly. "Or _is _it?"

The manticore let out an enraged yowl and flung a volley of spikes at the two demigods. Melody spun her staff, managing to block some, but not all. Some embedded themselves in nearby trees, accompanied by the screaming of dryads. One slammed into Melody's shoulder, and another grazed her cheek. A third stabbed into Nico's leg.

"The brat is mine!" the manticore roared. "You cannot stop me!"

Melody leapt forward, slashing at the beast's face. He dodged and laughed in reply.

"Your kind are not warriors! Run while you still can!" he taunted. "Go paint something! Do not pretend to be a warrior."

"I'll paint the ground with your blood," she snarled back, "because I _am _a warrior." With that, she lashed out again, managing to land a shallow cut across the bridge of the manticore's nose. His mismatched eyes widened in pain and surprise. Then he threw Melody a menacing glare.

"Whatever you may think you are," he growled in a low voice, "you will not keep me from my revenge. The boy escaped my grasp. He made me look like a fool."

"That was six years ago," Nico pointed out.

Thorn laughed. "We monsters can hold grudges for a _very _long time."

Nico strode forward and snapped his fingers. "You missed my point," he said coldly, as a crack appeared in the earth between himself and Thorn. "That was six years ago. I'm not a helpless ten-year-old anymore." A trio of skeletal warriors climbed out of the crack as he said, his voice low and dangerous, "I'm the King of Ghosts."

Melody was impressed.

The skeletons attacked the manticore, slashing at him with their swords and driving him back several feet. Then he retaliated, lashing out with his claws and tail.

Melody watched for a few moments, then asked, "Can those skeletons... re-die or anything?"

"They can be sent back to the Underworld," Nico answered. "Why?"

"Just wondering."

When they looked back at the fight, one of the skeletons was gone.

"Well, fudgebunnies," Melody said.

Nico glanced at her. "Fudge what?"

She didn't answer. Instead, she slipped behind a tree and began quickly unlacing her combat boots. She slipped them off, then her socks— also black, Nico noted with some amusement— and, now barefoot, darted behind another tree, then another. The whole time, she kept the trees between herself and and Thorn, while gradually working her way behind him.

Nico watched her. She was fast and silent; her feet barely even seemed to touch the ground. He suddenly remembered her saying that she was a ninja. He had been certain she was joking. Now he wasn't so sure,

Suddenly she began to climb the tree that hid her. She scuttled up into the branches like a large squirrel, then slid carefully onto a thick, sturdy branch. Then she sprang onto another branch of another tree. It bounced slightly, and she turned to see if Thorn had noticed.

He hadn't; he was too busy with the skeletons to care about what sounded like a squirrel jumping through the treetops.

Melody grinned and continued, carefully selecting the sturdiest branches that would carry her to her destination.

Finally, she landed on a branch directly above the manticore, aiming so that she landed near the trunk to minimize noise.

Then she dropped down on the monster, blade first.

The celestial bronze went straight between his shoulder blades. He cried out in surprise and poofed into dust.

Melody sneezed. "Ew!" she exclaimed. "I have monster particles up my nose!"

Nico couldn't help it. He laughed. "You, my friend," he said to her cheerfully, "have some mad ninja skills."

"That I do," she agreed, wincing as she removed the spike that had embedded itself in her shoulder earlier. She pulled her shirt up just enough to examine the wound in her side. "Ugh, green."

"One question, though. Are you really a ninja? I thought you were joking, but then..." he indicated the dusty former manticore.

"I was kidding, Nico. Some of my training and techiques may be... ninja-esque, but I'm not cool enough to actually be a ninja."

"Okay. Now that that's cleared up..." he sat down next to her. "That weapon... what is it again?"

"Well, I told Thorn it was a brandistock, basically a spear with a retractable head, but it's actually way cooler than that. It's a weapon of my own design. I call it a 'trickstaff'."

"Trickstaff?" Nico repeated. "What does it do?"

"That information is classified."

He chuckled. "Of course it is. Okay, diffrent question. Why was Thorn telling you to 'go paint something'?"

"That information is classified."

He frowned. "Come on. Just tell me."

She sighed. "I... This is gonna be embarassing..."

"I'll tell you something embarassing about myself."

"Ooh, tempting." She grinned mischievously. "You go first."

"Ah, no. I don't think so. I asked first, you answer first."

"I think not, Son of Hades."

"Don't make me make you answer me."

"Ha! You wish you could."

"I bet I can."

"Alright," she said, standing up. "I hereby challenge thee to a duel."

Nico raised an eyebrow and stood up as well. "Oh really? Then I accept." He drew his sword.

"Not so fast. We're both wounded," Melody pointed out.

"You challenged me," Nico noted.

"I challenge thee to a duel— _tomorrow."_

"Alright, but if I win, you _have _to tell me."

"Deal."


	6. Explaining

Chapter Six: Explaining

Melody poked at the fire with a long stick, wishing she could sleep. It was a warm, quiet night, and the air smelled faintly of honeysuckles, which had always relaxed her. So why couldn't she sleep?

Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and a pair of warm arms slid around her. She jumped slightly, startled. Nico was one of the few people she knew who could actually sneak up on her, and she knew it was him. But... why was he...

"Melody," he breathed in her ear.

"Nico," she replied shakily, "what're you—"

He silenced her with a gentle kiss. "I can't do it anymore," he murmured. "I can't hide my feelings for you..." And then his lips were on hers again, gentle but hungry, and she melted, giving in to his kiss. She tilted her head back as his kisses trailed down her throat, gasped as his teeth grazed her collarbone—

And sat bolt upright, suddenly wide awake. She looked to her right, where the Nico of reality crouched with a stick aimed at where she had just been laying.

"Darn," he grumbled. "I almost had my revenge." He tossed the stick aside. "I was _this close!" _he complained.

Melody laughed, at the same time thinking, _I am gonna kill __Morpheus. Immortal or not, he is so dead._

"So..." Nico said. "How 'bout that duel now?"

Melody stretched thoughtfully. "We should move first," she decided. "Then we can duel with fewer monsters trying to eat us."

"Good idea," Nico agreed.

* * *

Hours later, in a sunlit meadow filled with wildflowers, Nico pointed his sword at Melody's throat. "I win," he said.

Melody let out a stream of Latin obscenities. "I knew you'd beat me," she grumped, "but I thought it would take just a bit longer."

"Aw, you're not so bad."

"Hmph."

"Anyway, I want my answer now."

Melody sighed. "Alright, fine. Thorn said that stuff because... well, my mother... is a Muse."

"That's not so bad."

"I'm a warrior, Nico. Not an artist. The only power I inherited is one I never use."

"Which Muse is she?"

"Melpomene. She presides over tragedy and... um... well..."

"Spill it."

"Singing."

"So you're a good singer?"

Melody laughed miserably. "I'm not exactly Orpheus. I can sing decently well. But I doubt it's fame-worthy."

"Sing."

"I refuse."

"Your refusal has been denied."

"Your denial of my refusal has been vetoed."

"Your veto of my denial of your refusal has been outvoted."

"Your outvoting of my veto of... whatever.. has been completely ignored."

Nico chuckled. "Just sing."

Melody sighed. "Fine."

She took a deep breath...

And sang.

Her voice immediately softened, and she sang a gentle, sad song, something about forgotten stories and unremembered heroes, legends lost to the wind. It wasn't perfect or amazing; the birds didn't stop to listen, the world didn't stop turning, her voice didn't echo majestically miles away. But it was... nice.

When she finished, Nico smiled. "Definitely better than Justin Beiber, that's for sure. And that girl who sang 'Friday'.'

Melody made a face. "Better be."

Nico laughed. "I like your voice. It's pretty."

Melody blushed slightly and hoped Nico didn't notice. "Thanks." She punched him in the arm.

"I said if you explained, I'd tell you something embarassing about myself," Nico said. "I'm going to keep that promise. So here goes. I used to play Mythomagic."

Melody just stared at him. She didn't laugh, she didn't move, she didn't blink. She just stared at him.

"What? Don't you believe me? I can prove it, I still have a fig—"

"You think that's embarassing?" Melody interrupted.

Nico frowned. "Well, I thought _you _might think so—" He stopped as Melody reached into her pocket and pulled out a drawstring bag. "What—" She pulled out a deck of cards, held together by a rubber band with her name written on it in Greek. "Wait— Seriously?"

"Yes, Nico. I have Mythomagic cards. Oh, and also, this is a bag of holding."

"You mean... like in Dungeons and Dragons?"

"Yup. But with a few... glitches."

"Like?"

"You're probably better off not knowing."

"Uh... Okay, then. So... where'd you get the bag, anyway?"

"It was a birthday present from a son of Hecate."

"You get birthday presents from a son of Hecate?"

She noticed the look on his face. "It's not like that," she grumbled. "Dave's just a friend."

"So his name's Dave, huh? I wonder if this 'Dave' would agree, or if there's something you're not telling me."

She wondered what would happen if he suddenly realized just how far off the mark he was.

She decided to change the subject. "I need to talk to someone tomorrow. It's really important."

Nico grinned. "Is his name Dave?"

Melody snarled. "No. His name most certainly is not Dave."

"Are you neglecting your poor boyfriend?"

Melody decided to just tell him, and to Hades with consequences.

"Nico, Dave is not my boyfriend. I have no interest in a relationship with Dave, and Dave would, in all honesty, be more interested in a relationship with _you."_

Nico blinked. "Oh," he said sheepishly. "So he's, like, your gay best friend."

"Something like that. Don't worry, though. You're not really his type. Captain Jack Harkness, on the other hand..."

"Um... So who do you need to talk to tomorrow?"

She grimaced.

"Morpheus."


	7. A Little Talk with Morpheus

Chapter Seven: A Little Talk with Morpheus

"So... Morpheus lives _here?"_ Nico eyed the building distrustfully. "It looks like an art studio."

"That's because it's an art studio."

"I thought Morpheus was the god of sleep. Shouldn't he live in, I dunno, a sleep clinic or something?"

"He's the god of dreams. He paints pictures in sleeping mortals' minds, and those pictures become our dreams."

"So he lives in an art studio."

"Yup. A very, very creepy art studio."

"Melody, are you sure this is a good idea?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if he doesn't want to talk to you? What if tries to _kill _you?"

"Morpheus is usually eager to talk to anyone who's even half as morbid as he is."

"Morbid? He's the god of dreams."

"And the creator of all nightmares."

"Oh... I see your point. Are you really that morbid?"

"Yes. I have issues. I got hold of an audiobook of "The Masque of the Red Death" when I was, like, six. So I had early exposure to the macabre."

"Melody, I really don't think this is a good idea."  
"Look, Nico..." she paused, pondering how she should go about explaining this to him without sounding whiny. "I'm not exactly a child of one of the Big Three. I'm a demigod so minor that most people don't even know who my mother is. Big heroes don't tend to invite people like me on quests, regardless of fifteen years of training. We rarely get quests of our own. So when a god _does _happen to ask one of us to do something, it's a big deal. Morpheus is the only god who's ever given me a quest. My dreams lately have been very bizarre, which means Morpheus is probably trying to get me here so he can tell me to do something. Either that, or he's just messing with me, in which case I need to tell him to stop before he drives me completely bat-shi—"

"Oh, is it working then?"

Melody looked over her shoulder at the figure in the doorway of the art studio while Nico eyed him warily. He was tall, with dark, wavy hair and darker eyes. He wore a smock covered in flecks and splashes of paint that shifted and writhed like they were alive. He nodded politely at Nico.

"New shape," noted Melody.

"I plucked it from the mind of a creative young mortal. Do you like it?"

"Fashion's not my thing."

Morpheus chuckled. "No, I don't suppose it is." He looked at her ragged clothes. "Who wears leggings with shorts?"

"I do. Are we gonna go in or what?"

Morpheus smiled creepily and stepped back, out of the doorway.

Melody started forward, but Nico caught her arm. "Melody, I don't like this. Did you see the way he smiled just then?"

"Don't worry, Nico. He's always like that, and he hasn't done anything bad to me yet."

"_Yet,"_ Nico emphasized. "I just don't want to see a friend get hurt."

Melody had a brief flashback to her thoughts just before she ran away from home. _Nobody's dead YET. I don't want my family to get hurt..._

"Nico..." she trailed off, unsure of what to say. She finally settled on, "I'll be fine." She knew it was a lame reply. She didn't have anything better. People just weren't her thing.

She walked into the art studio.

"Took you long enough," Morpheus said. He was standing in front of a painting of a woman in a flowing white dress. The paint writhed as the woman struggled against some invisible force.

"It would probably help if you weren't so creepy."

"Ah, but that would take all the fun out of life." He wandered over to a chair and sat down. "Besides," he continued lazily, "my job involves sneaking into people's bedrooms while they're sleeping. How can I possibly not be creepy?"

Melody had to admit, he had a point there. "Okay, but do you have to do the smile?"

"Absolutely," he said, smiling again.

"Change of subject," Melody said uncomfortably. "What do you want?"

"Melody, Melody, what makes you think I want anything at all?"

"You've been playing with my dreams."

"Melody, just because you have a strange dream doesn't mean it is my doing."

"Do you have to keep saying my name like that? It's weird. And anyway, I _know _it was you."

"I only begin the dream, Muse-child. It is your mind that continues it, fleshes it out."

"The point is that you started it."

"Started what, exactly?"

"You know very well what."

Morpheus smiled lazily. "Half-bloods... you're so much more fun than mortals." He picked up a paintbrush and started painting on the wall.

"What do you _want, _Morpheus?" Melody asked again.

Morpheus finished painting whatever it was he was painting. "I never did understand why you always use my Greek name."

"Because Morpheus sounds cooler than Somnia."

"I suppose it does."

"Are you gonna tell me why I'm here or am I gonna leave without helping you?"

"There is a certain half-blood who has become an annoyance to me. He has been experimenting with lucid dreaming, and it has become irritating. I have no problem with lucid dreamers— under ordinary circumstances. But the way this one is going about it... I would like you to speak to him."

"Who is it?"

Morpheus waved his hand at the painting; Melody realized with a start what it depicted. It was a boy in a lab coat with safety goggles on his head and huge glasses on his face.

"Your friend Dave," Morpheus said.

Melody groaned. "You want me to stop _Dave _from_experimenting?" _she complained. "He's like a mad scientist without the science! He's___ always _experimenting! Nobody can make him stop!"

"I'm not asking you to make him stop experimenting altogether. I'm asking you to convince him to turn his attention elsewhere."

"The only way I can think of is to... _volunteer."_

"Is it really so terrible?"

"Yes. When Dave asks you to be a guinea pig, there's a horrifying possibility that he means it literally."

Morpheus laughed. "Then maybe you should get it over with," he suggested.

Melody turned around and left, grumbling to herself.

Nico stood outside, pacing. He didn't like this place one bit. Morpheus was a creep (and a traitor; Nico hadn't forgotten about the Battle of Manhattan) and through the windows, he could see constantly moving paintings of what appeared to be people's nightmares. One depicted a man running and going nowhere as some shadowy horror chased after him. Another was of a sobbing child surrounded by laughing clown faces.

Nico was relieved when Melody came out.

"As it turns out," she said, "we _will _be paying Dave a visit."

"Where is he?"

"Camp."

"Okay."

"Nico?"

"Hm? What is it?"

"If he turns me into something small and fuzzy, can you punch him for me?"


	8. Dave, Mad Mage

Chapter Eight: Dave, Mad Mage

Melody and Nico arrived on Half-Blood Hill, and Melody looked around with interest. "So this is Camp Half-Blood, huh?"

"Yep," Nico said. He pointed. "And that's the Hecate cabin over there." He glanced down at Melody. "You've never been here before?"

"No. Greek and Roman demigods weren't allowed to know about each other until after I stopped socializing with humanoids."

Nico frowned slightly. "Then how do you know Dave?"

"I broke the rules." She set off toward the cabins, giving the guardian dragon a brief pat on the head. The creature gave Nico a confused look.

"It's okay, Peleus," Nico said. "She confuses me too sometimes." He set off after her.

When she was halfway to the Hecate cabin, Nico caught up to her. "So why do you need to talk to this guy, anyway?"

"Morpheus asked me to."

"Asked or told?"

"Does it matter? He's a god."

"He's a _creep. _Why_ —"_

He was interrupted by a very loud explosion. Black smoke billowed out of the Hecate cabin's windows, and a soot-covered figure stumbled out, coughing. A soot-covered figure in a blackened lab coat, wearing opaque safety goggles.

"Dave!" shouted Melody.

The figure lifted the safety goggles with one dusty hand, revealing a pair of very blue eyes magnified by a pair of very large glasses. He grinned, his perfect white teeth standing out amidst all the dark soot, and shouted back, "Melody! I haven't seen you since it wasn't against the rules!"

Melody ran across the remaining distance to punch Dave's arm. "Looks like the Mad Mage's experiment 'sploded just a bit," she teased.

"That it did," he agreed. "It was very unexpected."

"Yeah, right."

"So what brings you here? And more importantly, is that Nico di Angelo?" His eyes widened. "I wonder if—"

"No experimenting on Nico."

"But he's—"

"No."

"But it's just—"

"No."

"Not even—"

"Negative."

"For the sake of—"

"Nu-uh."

"Aw... darn..."

Nico was amused at this rapid exchange, and glad Melody had prevented her friend from experimenting on him.

"As to why I'm here... Dave, what've you been experimenting with recently?"

"Lots of things."

"Like?"

"Well, transformation, of course. As usual. But also potions. Healing potions, stamina potions, strength potions, the like. And lucid dreaming."

"That's why I'm here."

"Huh?"

"Your lucid dream experiments. What have you been doing?"

Dave launched into a lengthy explanation filled with obscure technical terms, most of which Nico was sure had been made up. "Manabit", for example, did not sound like a real unit of measure.

Melody, on the other hand, seemed to understand most of what Dave was saying and only asked a few questions. Nico decided it was probably because she had known Dave for so long.

When the nerdy mage finished his explanation, Melody snorted. "And it honestly never occured to you that such a field might irritate Morpheus?"

Dave's eyes widened. "Is he mad at me? The last thing I need is for another god to be mad at me."

"He wants you to stop the experiment."

"But... pseudo-science _needs—"_

"Just find something else to do."

"The experiment isn't fin—"

"_Just find something else to do."_

Dave sighed and reluctantly said, "Fine. But there's a price."

"I'll buy you a Torchwood poster."

Dave raised an eyebrow. "As much as I like a certain ex-Time Agent, that is not enough. You know the price."

Melody groaned. "Fine! I'm a guinea pig. But not literally." She flashed Dave a withering glare. "Under no circumstances literally."

"Darn," Dave grumbled. Then he suddenly looked down at himself, realized that he was still covered in soot, amd waved his hand. The dust vanished, revealing that he had skin almost the color of his now-clean lab coat and a mess of mouse-brown hair.

Nico looked at Melody. "What's he gonna do?"

Melody shrugged. "Some experiment."

"Is it gonna... explode?"

"Nah. He doesn't test on humans until the spell is more or less stable."

"More or less?"

"There can still be unexpected side effects. Like in my Bag of Holding. It has some weird glitches."

"I fixed the worst ones," Dave said sheepishly. Then he pulled a vial of some clear fluid out of the pocket of his lab coat. "Can we get started?"

"Depends on what you're planning to do."

"Just hypothetically, would you rather be a cat or a dog?"

"Oh, no. We're not doin' this." Melody took a defensive stance and started backing away.

"Oh, relax," said Dave, laughing. "I was joking. Although one out of seven test subjects does become transfigured... Temporarily!" he added hastily as Melody glared. "It never lasts more than an hour!"

"What's the potion _supposed _to do?" Melody asked cautiously.

"It temporarily increases strength and reflexes just a little."

"Or turns some people into stuff."

"Yeah... Wanna try?"

"I guess... if it's necessary to complete my mission..."

Dave reached over and pulled a single hair out of Melody's head.

"Youch!" she yelped, slapping him. "What was that for?"

"Ow! The potion has to be attuned to you!" He dropped the hair into the vial. The liquid glowed for a moment, then turned aquamarine. Dave held the vial up, comparing the color of the liquid to the color of Melody's one visible eye. "Okay, it's good." He handed tne potion to her.

"Okay," she mumbled, "Here goes..." She drank the potion.

And vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Crap," Dave muttered. "She's gonna kill me."

Nico stared at where Melody's face had been a moment before, then looked down at where her feet had been.

"Awww, how cute," he teased.

Melody was a kitten.

She blinked and looked around for a moment, disoriented. Then she looked up at Nico and immediately puffed up and jumped sideways. "What the—" She stopped, startled by her own tiny, high voice. "Wha— my voice—" Then she looked down at herself. "I'm... I'm a..." she stammered squeakily.

Then she looked at Dave.

He began to back away slowly.

Kitten-Melody launched herself at him, latched onto his jeans with tiny, sharp kitten-claws, and commenced to bite his knee repeatedly with her needle-like teeth.

"Owowowowowowowow!" Dave yelped as he tried to remove her claws from his pants. Nico couldn't stop laughing. Dave was being mauled by a fluffy black kitten.

By this time, quite a crowd had gathered to see the vengeful kitten take on the mad mage. Many were pointing and laughing; others were wincing in sympathy. A few were cheering. "Get 'im, kitty!" someone yelled.

Eventually, Nico decided that Dave had probably had enough, so he went to retrieve Melody. He grabbed her gently by the scruff, unhooked her claws and teeth from the tortured denim she clung to, inored her mewling protests, and held her limp form up in front of his face. "I think Dave's had enough. Don't you?"

Melody let out a sputtering hiss. Nico chuckled, then turned to Dave.

"So she'll be a doom kitty for how long?"

"Up to an hour."

Nico smiled at Melody. "This'll be fun," he said.


	9. Meowlody

Chapter 9: Meowlody

Melody was enraged. Dave had turned her into somethimg small and fuzzy. _Again._

"I did warn you it might happen," he was saying. "It's not _completely _my fault."

Melody growled at him, which didn't sound very threatening because she was a kitten. "You could have picked something with less fuzzy side effects for me to test!" She was annoyed at the sound of her own voice.

"Well, did it at least improve your reflexes?"

"I'm a kitten, Dave! A tiny little kitt—" A butterfly chose that moment to flutter past. Melody's kitten instincts took over, and she found herself jumping at it. She caught it and fell to the ground with a squeak. Then she turned back toward Dave, her tail lashing. "Damn it! You made my ADHD worse!" She tried to attack him again, but Nico deftly caught her with one hand.

"No. Bad kitty," he scolded.

"Nico," Melody grumbled, "you do know I'm still me, right?"

"Yeah, but it's more fun to ignore that little detail."

"I hate you."

"Aw, you know you don't," he said, scratching under her chin. Despite herself, she began to purr softly.

"Damn it," she grumbled quietly.

Nico smiled.

Melody sneezed and tried to squirm out of his grip, then gave up and let herself be scritched. She glared at Dave. "How the Hades does a reflex-improving potion turn someone into a kitten, anyway?"

"Uh... It... I don't really know," Dave replied uncertainly. "Lou Ellen once said somehing about spells and potions being affected by the person making them. Maybe it's because of my natural talent and interest toward transformation..." He pulled a notepad and a mechanical pencil out of the pocket of his lab coat and started writing. "Maybe I can do something to negate that effect..." He continued writing, occasionally counting something off on his fingers, while Nico continued to pet Melody and Melody contiued to mumble under her breath and purr softly.

After a moment, Dave looked up. "I think I have a solution," he announced, "but I'll need to run some tests."

Nico eyed him distrustfully. "Is that really a good idea?" he asked distrustfully. He scooped Melody up— much to her surprise— and held her close to his chest in a defensive manner.

"Don't worry, I won't turn her into anything else. I just need some data."

Nico looked down at Melody.

"I'll be fine," she said.

"You said that earlier, and you're a cat now."

"Dave'll fix it."

Nico glanced at the Hecate cabin, remembering the explosion when they had arrived.

"I can't help but wonder," he said, very quietly.

Melody followed his gaze. "Nico..." She didn't know what to say. Again.

Nico reluctantly handed her to Dave, who carried her into the Hecate cabin. He set her on a table (which had been magically cleaned) and set about waving strange instruments around and taking notes. Then he suddenly waved a hand at her, and she changed back with a puff of smoke.

"Is the smoke really necessary?" she coughed.

"Sorry. But before you go, I want to talk to you."

"About what?"

"Nico."

"What about him?"

"You should tell him how you feel."

"What?" she spluttered. "Nico is a friend. A traveling companion's all he is, and that's all he'll ever be."

"Why do you think that?"

She fidgeted uncomfortably. "Because it's true. I'm not... I can't... Dave, I can barely socialize. I've spent my whole life trying to become a warrior, and now that's all I know how to be."

"Just tell him."

"I can't."

"Melody."

"I _can't."_

Dave shook his head. "I've known you for a long time, Melody, but I don't think I'll ever understand why you torture yourself like this."

Melody hopped down from the table. "Goodbye, Dave. I have reality to face."

She left.


	10. Old Friends Or Something

Chapter Ten: Old Friends (Or Something)

Melody thought about Dave's words again, wishing she knew how to follow his advice. That was the problem she had that he never understood. Why didn't she just say how she felt? Because she couldn't. She had no experience with her own emotions beyond how to push them aside and pretend they didn't exist.

Now it could cost her everything.

So she did what she had always done, when faced with the fact that she did, indeed, have a soul.

She hit stuff.

Her trickstaff collided violently with the head of a wooden practice dummy. The impact jarred her arms painfully. But she didn't stop, she wouldn't stop, she could never, ever stop, because then her feelings might catch up to her, and they were one foe she didn't know how to deal with. So she whirled around and slammed the staff into another dummy.

Impact.

Pain.

But so much better than the pain she pushed away.

Better her arms than her heart.

_Thwack! _The trickstaff hit another dummy in the face.

Melody had tried so hard for so many years to be a cold, emotionless warrior. She had thought that it would make her strong. She eventually found out otherwise, but by then, it was too late.

Dave watched as Melody hit a dummy so hard that its head came off. She had been relentlessly beating at a ring of dummies for hours, and they were beginning to fall apart. Or, more accurately, _fly _apart. A crude wooden hand almost hit Dave in the face. He dodged (barely) and looked down at the chunk of wood, and a pun he just couldn't resist came to mind. "Melody!" he called. She turned to face him, and he tossed the dummy piece at her. "Need a_ hand_?"

She snorted, flicked out the blade of her trickstaff, chopped the foot off of a dummy, and tossed it at Dave, shouting, "Something evil is afoot!"

Dave grinned. Bad puns, for some reason, always seemed to improve Melody's mood. It was one of the things that had allowed the formation of their friendship.

They might argue sometimes, they might fight, they might even hate each other for a short time. But in the end, they would always forgive each other.

After all, they were best friends.

No, they were closer even than that

Dave walked into the circle of practice dummies. "You seem to be feeling better now." He knew that it was just because she had something else to think about. He knew what she didn't want to think about.

"How can I get ahead if I stay depressed?"

He turned around. She was holding a wooden head. He groaned. "That was terrible, Melzebub."

She chuckled. "That it was. So, what's up?"

"Just wanted to try to lessen your social ineptitude some."

"How? I'm so far beyond help, it isn't even humerus." She poked his arm.

"You shouldn't tell fibulas."

"You mean fibs?"

"I must have made a clavicle error."

"Gods, I should just put you out of my misery."

"Hey."

"Most people wouldn't even _get _those puns."

Dave smiled. "That's because most people aren't as awesome as me. Or you, for that matter."

"Aw. How sweet." Her voice dripped sarcasm.

"You'd be a lot awesomer if you could tell him."

Melody stiffened. "You're not gonna let it go, are you?"

"I can't let you do this to yourself. How hard can it be? One little confession. That's all it takes. I'm sure he likes you too."

"Dave, it's so much harder than that. I can't... How can I put my feelings into words when I can't even face them?"

"Do you remember the day we met?"

Melody did.

"What was it you said to me?"

She buried her face in her hands.

"'Second Law of the Clan of Tolin,'" he quoted.

Melody remembered it very well.

* * *

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the wind was whispering in the dry autumn leaves. Melody lived in an area where autumn meant dull, brown leaves and a biting chill in the air, but she didn't mind. So what if the trees didn't put on splendorous painted robes? So what if cold weather came early? Autumn was such a wonderful time for metaphors, and Melody was a very poetic 10-year-old. Of course, if you were to point that out to her, she would probably hurt you. Severely.

She walked slowly, taking in the sights and sounds and smells of everything around her. It was nice, autumn; the world was a bit drowsy, preparing for winter sleep.

Then Melody turned a corner and saw something that snapped her back into reality.

Bullies.

There were three of them, all high school age. They were laughing at some poor kid, about Melody's age, maybe a little older, who they had surrounded. The kid stared around him with blue eyes magnified by huge glasses, looking for something, anything that could help him.

One of the bullies spotted Melody, and was distracted for a moment. The kid used that to his advantage, suddenly bolting out of the ring and running down the street. Melody had to admit, the guy was pretty fast. He dashed past Melody, shouting, "Run! D-don't let them c-catch you!"

Melody stood her ground.

The boy stopped, turning to look at her in obvious confusion. "Hey, you g-gotta run. You c-can't let them c-catch you. They'll b-beat you up." His eyes were wide with fear.

Melody glared at the three bullies, who were now watching her with some curiosity.

"Second Law of the Clan of Tolin," she said. "Don't resort to running, because you can't run forever. Face your foes and stand in battle, and above all, do not show your back."

"W-what? Don't be s-stupid. Th-they're b-b-bigger than you."

"And I'm better trained. Look at them. Their stance is sloppy. Their movements are inefficient. They're just brutes who think they can muscle through everything."

"News flash, brat. We can," said the one who looked least like a gorilla. Melody guessed he was the leader.

"Not while I'm around," she growled. One of the apes lunged at her, reaching out to pull her hair—

Which was not there anymore, because she had let herself fall into a low crouch, shooting one leg out to sweep the bully's feet out from under him. He hit the ground with a surprised grunt as she sprang away.

"You won't get away with this!' shouted the other lackey, who had inched around so that if Melody faced him, she was against a wall. He drew back his fist to punch her.

_ Bad move, _she thought as his fist sped toward her. At the last possible moment, she darted to the side, letting his fist smash into the bricks of the wall he had "trapped" her against. There was a sickening crunch and he cried out in pain. Melody grinned at him. "Laws of physics suck, don't they?"

Then she turned to the leader, who was watching her, stunned. "How...?"

"So far," she said, picking calmly at a spot on her fingernail, "I've just been defending myself. What do you think wil happen—" here she looked up, her aquamarine eyes shining dangerously—"if I take up the attack?"

The bully charged forward, a desperate fear in his eyes. She caught his fist and threw him to the side, which was easy, because his balance was way off.

She turned around to give the stuttering boy a comforting smile. "Got 'em," she said triumphantly.

_Click._

She whirled around to see the lead bully getting up.

He had a switchblade in his hand.

"You'll pay," he growled. "You'll pay for what you did."

A rock hit his hand, causing him to drop the knife. Another hit the knife itself, causing it to fly out of his reach.

Melody turned her head to look over her shoulder at the man who stood a few feet behind her, tossing a rock in the air and catching it. He was tall and pale, with spiky black hair and all-black clothes. His sleeveless shirt revealed a tattoo of a dragon wrapped around his muscular arm.

Melody grinned. "Daddy!" she said.

One of the bullies turned around and bolted. A rock pegged him soundly in the back of the head. He collapsed, unconcious, as Mr. Tolin bent down to scoop up another rock. "So who's next?" he asked politely.

The other two bullies looked at each other and took off at the same time. Two rocks followed them in rapid succession.

Melody's father pulled out a cell phone and dialed. "Some hooligans just tried to attack my daughter. One of them had a knife. Ah, they're... incapacitated. You'll have no trouble finding them. " He was now pinning the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he pulled a handful of zip-ties out of his pocket. "Yes, thank you." He gave their location, dropped the phone into his free hand, hung up, and started zip-tying the bullies' hands.

Meanwhile, Melody was talking to the boy with the glasses. "I'm Melody Tolin. What's your name?"

"D-D-Dave," he stammered. "I-I'm sorry to have c-caused so much t-t-trouble."

Melody blinked, then laughed. "Aw, you didn't do anything wrong. I fought those guys 'cause they needed to be taught a lesson."

"I'm too w-w-weak to d-defend myself... You sh-shouldn't have had to s-save me."

Melody had an epiphany.

"Hey, Daddy, she called over her shoulder, "d'you think we could teach Dave to fight?"

Mr. Tolin looked up. "Sure. We can do that."

Dave's eyes filled with tears. "Y-y-you w-would...w-w-w-why?... I-I mean... I d-d-don't h-have a-any m-m-money..."

"Who said anything about money?" Melody grinned.

"B-b-but... what if I c-can't... what if I d-don't have what it t-takes... what if I c-can't learn how—"

"First Law of the Clan of Tolin: It can be done. There is always a way."

Dave frowned. "What's the Clan of Tolin?"

"A fancy name for my family."

"Oh... I don't have a family."

Melody's eyes widened. "Oh! Are you an orphan?"

Dave nodded, looking over his shoulder at the roof of the orphanage a few blocks away.

Mr. Tolin looked at him thoughtfully.

A few days later, they adopted him.

But that wasn't the point of the flashback, was it?

* * *

"Melody, I owe you everything I have. I wouldn't have survived to find out who I am if it wasn't for you. I can never repay my debt to you—"

"There is no debt."

"You gave me a family, taught me to fight, saved my life countless times, and even helped me get over my gods-awful stutter."

She smiled slightly. "It wasn't so bad."

He chuckled. "You kidding me? It was terrible. 'I am D-D-Dave of the C-C-C-Clan of T-T-Tolin. I-I will n-not be d-d-defeated!' Sounds real threatening, huh? But back to the point, sister-of-mine. You need to tell Nico how you feel. Before you explode."

"Exploding would be bad," she agreed reluctantly. "But..."

She couldn't think of a valid argument that she herself had not shot down five years ago.

"Oh, fine," she finally grumped. "I'll tell him."


	11. The L Word

******Special Thanks to MyNameIsAwesome for helping me make this chapter extra-adorkable. Now, enjoy the incredibly awkward confessions of nerd love. :3**

******Chapter Eleven: The "L" Word**

Melody was relieved to finally be back in the wilderness. The wind whispered softly in the trees, squirrels leapt from branch to branch, birds flitted about their business, and there were so few people...

But there was the small problem of Nico, and telling him how she felt.

"Hey, Nico," she said nervously. "I need to talk to you about something."

"What is it?" he asked.

"Well, it's... um... well, that is... I... I'm..."

Nico looked concerned. "Are you okay?"

"What makes you think I'm not okay?" she demanded, a little too quickly.

"Uh, well, you ususally have no trouble saying what's on your mind." He put his hand on her head as if checking for a fever. She blushed slightly at his gentle touch, mostly because she was already nervous.

"Well... it has to do with something that starts with an 'L'."

Nico frowned. "Lemons?"

Melody frowned right back. "No."

"Linoleum?"

"Huh? No. That's ridiculous. Um... It's something that... makes people act... weird."

"Um... Licking?"

"No, Nico. Love."

"Oh. Um... Why would you wanna talk to me about love?"

"I—" Melody was startled by how oblivious he was. "I.. well..."

"What's wrong, Melody?"

She finally exploded. "I'm in love with you, you zombie-brained corpse-faced moron!"

"O-oh! Um... I... I... I didn't, I mean I— You— I— but— you..."

Melody began to suspect that his brain had crashed.

She sighed. "I'll come back when you've rebooted," she said, walking away.

Nico caught her arm. "Wait," he said desperately.

She turned to face him. "Okay now?" she asked.

His dark eyes searched her face. "Why? Why would you love me?"

"How could I not?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper. "How could I possibly not?" She pulled the silver locket out of her shirt. "You are the only person outside of my family who's ever been so... so unbelievably kind to me. You are the first person to ever say that my graveyard visits were appreciated. You... you remimded me that what I do matters. I had been alone for so long, Nico, and you saw that I was lonely. You came to keep me company when nobody else would give me a second look..." She was beginning to cry; she made an odd hiccuping sound before going on. "You cared about me, and you made me laugh, and... and I was so happy..." She suddenly put her arms around Nico and buried her face in his shirt.

"Mumph murmph mumphy," she said, her actual words muffled by Nico's chest.

"What? I didn't catch that."

She looked up at him with aquamarine eyes filled with fear and sadness. "Please don't leave me," she whispered.

Nico smiled. "Why would I do that?" He bent down slightly to kiss her on the nose, and said the words she had never expected him to really say, no matter how hard she wished he would.

"I love you too."


	12. The Quest Begins

**A/N Thanks again to MyNameIsAwesome for helping, this time with the prophecy. Enjoy!**

Chapter 12: The Quest Begins

Nico smiled at Melody, who was asleep with her head against his chest. He stroked her hair, which was softer than it looked. She looked so calm when she was asleep... he wondered if she was dreaming, and if so, what about. He hoped it was something pleasant.

It wasn't.

* * *

An inhuman cackle echoed through a dank stone tunnel. The smell of decay was all around, filling the air. Melody drifted, without a body, through the cave.

The cackle sounded again, ringing in Melody's nonexistent ears, and to her horror, something began pulling her toward it. She tried to struggle, but it was difficult without a body.

Then the force made itself visible- or, rather, _him_self. He turned to look at her through his dark, wavy hair, then gestured with one paint-flecked hand. "You need to see this," he said quietly. "You must tell the son of Hades."

Melody stopped struggling and let herself drift into an wide cavern, where a very familiar figure loomed over a small pit. "It is time, my children! Time to rise and eat your fill!"Echidna shrieked gleefully.

Morpheus pulled Melody over to the pit. He pointed at it.

"Look, Melody. This is what you must tell him."

She looked down at something that chilled her to the bone. "No..." she whispered. "It can't be..."

Nestled in the sand were three eggs: one red with gold flecks, one black with silver stripes, and one blue marbled with green.

Melody had never seen anything like them, and she had seen a lot.

"What are they, Morpheus?"

"You know as well as I."

"Meaning you don't know either."

"They are something different. Something new."

"But that's impossible."

"What is the first rule of your family?"

"It can be done," she whispered.

One of the eggs began to rock back and forth.

Suddenly Melody was in Camp Half-Blood. She was still bodiless, and could only watch as people screamed and ran and fought something she couldn't make out.

She saw Dave reaching out to her, his eyes filled with fear.

She woke up screaming.

Nico was startled. "What happened?"

"We have to get back to Camp Half-Blood, right now."

"What's going on?"

"Trouble."

"Melody, what hap-"

"There's no _time!_"

She ran in the direction of the camp. Nico ran after her, caught her hand, and they shadow-traveled to the top of Half-Blood Hill.

Camp Half-Blood was being attacked by a huge flock of harpies.

Before Nico could stop her, Melody ran down the hill, slipping her ring off and expanding it into its trickstaff form. She dashed straight into the battle, slashing and hacking at the monstrous bird-women. "Dave!" she called.

"Here!" Dave called back. She located him just outside the Hermes cabin, blasting down harpies as they came near. He stood back-to-back with a boy who wielded a pair of wickedly curved daggers, and the two were putting up quite a fight. She made her way over to them, cutting a path as she went. Finally, she stood close enough to talk to Dave.

"What happened?" she asked, raising her voice to be heard over the squawking and clanging.

"I don't know! One moment everything was fine, and the next, there was a flock of harpies attacking Camp!"

"You didn't notice anything? Anything at all?" Melody swatted a harpy to the ground, then impaled her.

"There may have been a slight fluctuation in the flow of naturally occurring magical energy, but it was hard to tell from that distance."

"Which way did the harpies come from?"

"They came out of the forest."

"How big was the possible fluctuation?"

"Hard to tell. It was pretty far away. My instruments said just a few manabits. I would normally disregard something that small, but- _die_, you stupid bird!- but it happened right before the attack, and from the same direction."

"That can't be good."

"No, it- _Gah!_"

A harpy sank her talons into Dave's shoulders. Melody slashed at the bird-woman's wings furiously, but the monster just yanked them out of the way and headbutted the enraged demigod as more harpies took hold of Dave, flapping their wings furiously. He struggled as they lifted him up off the ground. Lightning shot from his fingertips, turning several harpies into clouds of dust. Melody hacked another's leg off.

Then one harpy seized a rock in her talons and dropped it on Dave's head.

"No!" cried Melody, as still more harpies appeared to carry Dave away. She grabbed his ankle, weighing him down. A harpy flew at her face, and she shrieked as talons slashed her cheek, barely missing her eye.

But she would not let go.

Or so she thought, until another harpy forcefully pried her fingers away from Dave's ankle.

She fell to the ground, crying out, as the harpies stole her brother.

She could see other Campers being carried away, many limp in the harpies' claws.

She felt Nico's hand on her arm as she screamed at the sky.

She screamed as loudly as she could, as long as she could, then took a breath and screamed again.

She screamed a wordless challenge at the harpies.

Wherever they went, wherever they took him, she would go there and save him.

No monster could stop her. If she died, then by Hades, she would come back from the dead. She would stop at nothing to save her brother.

Hours later, Nico sat down next to Melody and handed her a plate of food. He was worried; she hadn't said a word since the attack. Her fingers and her face had been treated; with a little ambrosia and nectar, she was fine, physically speaking.

Her mental state was something else entirely.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

She still wouldn't answer. She just picked at her food and stared at the forest.

Nico sighed. "Melody, why won't you talk to me? I'm worried about you."

"I'm worried about my brother."

"Your _brother?_ I didn't know you _had_ a brother."

"You've met him."

"Wait- you mean _Dave?_ He's your _brother?_"

"Yes. He's adopted."

"Oh. Well. Any other siblings I should know about?"

"I have a mortal half-sister. Her name is Kiseki."

"Huh."

Melody stood up. "I need answers," she announced.

Nico stood up as well. "I'll go with you."

She glanced back at him gratefully.

They went into the forest. Melody looked around, searching for any clues as to what had happened. Nico noticed that she kept her ring in the palm of her hand.

Suddenly she stopped. "Nico," she said quietly, "I found something."

"What is it?" he asked, looking over her shoulder. He frowned. "I don't see anything."

Melody reached out a hand. "It's invisible," she said, "but I can feel it. I've lived with Dave long enough to know what magic feels like."

"Magic?" Nico reached out and put his hand near hers. The hair on his arm stood up, and the air felt like it was full of static. "Oh. That must've been a big spell, to leave that much magic behind in the air."

Melody nodded. "A big spell like, say, a massive monster summoning."

"Possibly," agreed Nico. "Let's tell Chiron."

Melody growled. "I say we handle it ourselves."

"No." Melody looked up in shock as Nico continued. "You're not the only one who lost someone in that attack. Dave wasn't the only one kidnapped. There are about a dozen other lives at stake. We tell Chiron."

Melody sighed. "Lead the way."

They walked out of the forest and to the Big House. Chiron stood outside. He looked up as they approached. He and Nico greeted each other, and Nico reported what they'd found.

"Then it is as I feared," the centaur said as Nico finished. "There is a traitor in our midst."

"What should we do?" Nico mused.

Chiron pointed. "She might know."

Nico and Melody turned to see a woman with frizzy red hair staggering toward them.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Nico explained. "Oracle."

Melody shivered slightly. "She doesn't look so great," she noted.

Rachel staggered up to Nico and placed a hand on his shoulder. Then she began to speak in a very strange voice.

"The darkness will rise and the Ghost King will fight  
To search for the lost and a thief in the night.  
By unicorn's choice, a hero shall sleep  
And the love of a shadow will drive you to weep."

She collapsed. Nico cught her and set her gently on the ground.

"Well," he said. "I guess I have a quest now."

Melody blinked. "Prohecies. Why do they have to be so vague?"

Nico shrugged.

Chiron's voice was grim as he said, "I will announce the quest."

* * *

"And so Nico must now choose the people who will accompany him on this quest," Chiron said to the assembled Campers. He turned around and Nico stepped forward.

He remembered what Melody had said in front of Morpheus's art studio. _Big heroes don't generally invite people like me on quests, despite fifteen years of training. _Well, that was about to change.

"I'll take Melody," he announced. A murmur went through through the crowd.

"Who?" someone asked.

"I've never heard of her!" someone else complained.

Melody pushed through the crowd, growling, "Lemme through."

"_Her? _She's a _weakling!_" bellowed a son of Ares.

In reply, she whirled around, snarling. Her trickstaff snapped outward. "Wanna test that theory?"

Nico put a hand on her shoulder. "Calm down."

She let out a rumbling growl and shook him off, her eyes never leaving the son of Ares, who was drawing a sword. "Whaddya gonna do with a _stick?_" he demanded, moving closer.

With one fluid motion, Melody flicked out her trickstaff's blade and pointed it at his throat.

"As I was saying," Nico said, "I'll take Melody, and... who else wants to go?"

As several hands went up in the air, the boy who had been fighting back-to-back with Dave shoved his way through the crowd. "I will go whether you take me or not," he announced. "So you might as well pick me."

Nico pondered it, while Melody grinned and said, "I like your attitude."

"Okay," Nico said, "you can come with us."

"Oh, come on!" someone shouted. "He just wants to save his little _boyfriend!_"

He snorted. "Watch it, daughter of Apollo. Your dad is about as straight as I am."

"Okay," Nico said, "let's go save some people."


	13. Off to a Great Start

**Chapter Thirteen: Off to a Great Start**

"I'm Josh, by the way," the new guy said. "Son of Hermes." He raked his auburn hair out of his brilliant green eyes, making it stick up.

Melody turned to glance over her shoulder at him. "I'm Melody, and you probably already know who Nico is."

"Yeah," he said. "Hey, um... How do you know Dave?"

"He's my brother."

"Oh! So you're the infamous Chocolate Thief," Josh chuckled.

Melody stiffened. "He told you about that?"

"Yeah..."

She whirled around. "What exactly is your relationship with my brother?" she demanded.

"Uh, well, I'm his boyfriend. He didn't mention me?" Josh looked slightly hurt.

"I wasn't exactly... around," Melody explained, sounding a little guilty. "He probably went and bragged to the rest of the family, though."

"Oh. Okay."

"Anyway, if you ever break Dave's heart or anything, I'll have to kill you. Brutally."

"Don't start sharpening your corkscrews. I really, truly love Dave."

"Good. Now how much did he tell you about the Chocolate Incident?"

"Just that you stole your mom's chocolate and framed him. And that it was weird that you didn't actually eat any, and he was pretty sure the whole thing was revenge for something."

"Did he say what it was probably revenge for?"

"No. I asked, but he wouldn't answer."

"Good," Melody growled.

Josh opened his mouth to ask why, then closed it as another voice spoke. "Nico—"

Melody, startled, whirled around, hissing.

Nico blinked. "Did you just hiss at Percy?" he asked incredulously.

"Um... no?" Melody replied sheepishly.

"You did!" Nico accused.

"I-it was probably a lingering side-effect of the transformation," she mumbled, blushing slightly.

"Or a vampire-inspired bad habit," put in Josh.

"Shut it," Melody growled at him.

Nico looked at the two of them and scratched his head. "I'm guessing you're talking about something Dave told you?" he said questioningly to Josh.

Josh's eyes lit up. "Oh, you don't know about that? Boy, do I have some things to tell you!"

Melody, in reply to this statement, kicked Josh none too gently in the knee, causing him to yelp loudly.

"Umm... Anyway," Percy said, "Nico, I wanna talk to you before you go."

"Okay," Nico said. "What's up?"

Percy looked over Nico's shoulder at Melody, who was chasing Josh in circles and kicking him repeatedly as he continued to taunt her. "You should—" he hesitated. "Well, you should be careful. All quests are dangerous, but I have a really bad feeling about this one."

"Don't worry," Nico said.

Percy frowned. "Your friend doesn't seem to be taking this very seriously," he said, watching Melody continue kicking Josh.

Nico glanced at her. "I think she is," he said. "She's probably going crazy waiting to go, and that's why she's being like that. In fact, we should get going before—" Just then, Josh cried out in pain and fell to his knees, hands over his groin. Nico winced. "Too late."

Percy's eyes widened. "Did she just—"

"Yup."

"Ouch. And you're taking her with you?"

"She's a ruthless warrior," Nico pointed out with a shrug. "And I trust her."

"I think there's a little more to it than that," Percy said, raising an eyebrow. Nico reddened slightly.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Percy. "I just think maybe it's not such a great idea to take someone that... well, someone who's..."

"A psychopath?" Nico suggested.

Percy winced. "I didn't say that," he said.

Nico smiled crookedly. "It's okay," he said. "She's crazy, and she'll be the first to admit it."

Percy sighed. "You're a good kid, Nico," he said, ruffling the boy's shaggy hair affectionately. "Come back in one piece, 'kay?"

"I'll try," Nico said, trying to smooth his hair back down. It hadn't really been smoothed down to begin with, though, and neither Percy's ruffling nor his smoothing made it look any different. "Anyway, we should go." He turned around and sighed heavily when he saw that Melody and Josh were playing Mercy.

"Gods," he groaned, watching them struggle to bend each other's wrists back.

"Have fun," Percy said, before making a hasty escape.

"Hey," Nico called. "We're leaving now."

Melody suddenly started pushing harder, bending Josh's wrists back painfully before he had time to react. "Owowow! Ow!" He tried to push back, but the awkward angle of his wrists made it next to impossible. Then Melody released him and walked over to Nico.

"He didn't say it," Nico pointed out.

"The point wasn't to win," she said. "It was to make him suffer."

Josh walked up, rubbing his wrists. "So you forfeited, huh? Ha! I win!"

Melody turned to glare at him. "Don't gloat. I _let _you win."

He shrank away from her gaze. "Got it," he said. "Don't antagonize Vladia."

Nico stared at them blankly. "Vla...?"

Josh grinned. "Melody used to think she was Dracula reincarnated. She tried to get her parents to let her change her name to Vladia Dracul."

"I'm gonna kill you," she snarled, lunging toward Josh. Nico caught her with one arm around her waist.

"Nu-uh," he said. "We're leaving now."

"'Kay," Melody grumbled. She still wanted to kill Josh, but she wanted to be back in the wilderness more. Nico withdrew his arm.

"Uh... Which way are we going?" Josh asked tentatively.

Melody thought back, remembering the battle, the noise, seeing the harpies lift Dave and carry him...

She lifted her arm and pointed. "That way."


	14. Things Get a Little Weird

**Chapter Fourteen: Things Get a Little Weird**

Melody, Nico, and Josh moved quickly and quietly between the trees, looking for any sign of the harpies. Every so often they would find something: drops of blood which appeared to have fallen quite a distance, possibly from the wounds of abducted campers; the occasional feather that didn't seem quite right for a bird; strips of bright orange cloth tangled in the highest branches of trees. Melody squinted up at on of the waving streaks of orange.

"I bet Dave did that," she said quietly." Then she glanced at Josh and grinned. "He'll use any excuse to rip his shirt up and show off his skinny little chest."

Josh laughed. "I love him and all," he said, "but that boy needs a sammich."

Melody cackled. "He needs more than a sammich. He needs a life."

"He says I am his life," Josh said, grinning.

Melody rolled her eyes and kept walking. Then, after a few steps, she stiffened and came to a halt.

"Melody?" Nico's hand went to his sword.

Melody let out a groan as her knees buckled and she collapsed to the ground. Nico and Josh rushed to see what had happened.

"Melody! Are you alright?" Nico asked, desperation in his voice.

Josh sat her up, leaned her against a tree, and stared intently at something on her forehead.

"What is that?" Nico demanded.

Josh blinked. "It's... it's Dave's handwriting." His voice quivered slightly.

"What?" Nico leaned closer, brushing her hair out of her face. He stared at the glowing scribbles for a few moments, then asked, "What language is that?"

"It's ancient Greek."

Nico squinted at the hastily scrawled text. "Uh... Are you sure?"

Josh raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure. I can't make out what it says, but I can tell what language it is."

"Your boyfriend has terrible handwriting," Nico informed Josh. "But why would he cast a spell to knock her out?"

Josh shook his head. "I don't know," he said, closing his eyes. "I really have no clue."

"Could..." Nico hesitated. "Could the monsters have made him-"

"No." Josh cut him off aggressively. Green eyes stared Nico down through strands of auburn hair. "That's not it."

Nico sighed. "Then what _is_ it?"

"It's..." Josh waved his hand. "I don't know. I don't know what he's doing. But I _do _know that Dave would never— and I mean never— betray Melody."

Nico growled in frustration. "Then what in Dad's name is going on?"

"I can answer that," someone behind them said.

Nico spun around. "Morpheus," he spat. "What do you want?"

Morpheus, in all his paint-speckled, creepy glory, stepped out of the shadows, smiling slightly.

"I believe you were asking a question. I have the answer." He looked at Melody. "Dave is attempting to communicate with her through a dream."

Nico looked at the scrawls across Melody's forehead. "Oh."

"So..." Josh peered at the scribbles in amusement. "The teardrop thing is... delta? And that right there is, what, ro and epsilon stuck together?"

Morpheus grimaced. "I'm amazed anyone can make even that much sense out of it. I pity his schoolteachers."

While they discussed Dave's terrible handwriting, Melody's incorporeal form stood before her beaten and bloody brother. His hands were chained and he was on his knees, head forced down into a bow by a clawed, scale-armored hand belonging to a drakaina. Melody looked over her shoulder and saw that she was standing between Dave and Echidna.

Suddenly Dave jerked his head up, despite the drakaina's hand.

"Aika-chan," he rasped. Melody flinched. No one had called her that in years.

Echidna, on the other hand, hissed fiercely. "What is the meaning of this? Be silent, half-blood!"

Dave's eyes flashed behind his cracked glasses. "No, _you_ be silent, viper-bitch," he snarled. "Aika-chan, I called you here because, to be quite frank, I'm about to do something incredibly stupid. You may never see me again, and I just wanted you to know..." He grinned like a maniac. "If I go down, Aika, I'm dragging them to hell."

Echidna hissed and the drakaina guards shoved Dave's head back down, but it was too late. As Dave's ragged laughter echoed through the cavern, there was a fizzling sound, and he snapped the chain that held his hands. Melody's eyes filled with tears. "Ryuu..."

The drakaina holding Dave's head screeched and collapsed into spasms. Dave looked up again, the wild grin still across his face. "I did say _if, _Aika. It isn't likely." His grin widened. "After all, I'm the Mad Mage." He stood up, and his hands began to glow with a whirling violet light, flecked with sparks of orange.

"Ryuu, Be careful!" Melody cried.

Dave clenched his hands into fists and thrust them outward to either side, sending a rippling shockwave across the cavern. Monsters were hurled against stone columns and walls, impaled against stalagmites. Dave's grimy lab coat and the tattered remnants of his orange shirt flapped in the wind.

Melody's eyes flew open as she screamed, "Ryuu!"

Nico wrapped her in a fierce hug. "You're awake!" Then he let go and asked, "What does 'ryuu' mean?"

"It's his... It's Dave's other name."

Nico looked confused. "Other name?"

"It's a Tolin thing. We all have what we call 'warrior names'. Dave's is Ryuu. It means 'dragon'."

"What's yours?" Nico asked.

"It's... It's Aika."

"What does it mean?"

"Well... It means... That's not important!" she said desperately. "Dave just... He said he was about to do something stupid." She looked up at Josh, whose eyes widened.

"He _admitted _it was stupid? That's really bad."

Nico blinked. "What?"

Melody looked at him sadly. "Dave does stupid things every day. If he actually _warns you that he's about to do something stupid, it usually means he's about to do something __beyond stupid."_

Josh swallowed with some difficulty. "Did you... Did you see what he did?"

She stared at the ground. "He's trying to take on a whole army of drakaina. And Echidna herself is there."

"An _army_?" Josh blinked. "How's he gonna do that?"

"With a Hell-Pulse, for starters."

"A _what_? Is he_ insane_?"

"Completely." Melody noticed the blank look on Nico's face. "A Hell-Pulse is a magical attack Dave invented. It's incredibly powerful and dangerous to use. Especially in a cave."

"He's in a _cave_?" Josh's panic level was increasing steadily.

Morpheus, who had been forgotten in the drama, cleared his throat loudly. "Did you tell them about the eggs?"

Melody swore. "It slipped my mind." She quickly explained, then looked at Morpheus. "They're connected, aren't they? The eggs and the mass abduction."

Morpheus raised his eyebrows. "Of course they are. The abducted demigods are meant to provide nourishment for Echidna's soon-to-be-hatched spawn."

Melody's aquamarine eyes suddenly looked like thin ice barely holding back a flood of deadly rage. "They won't get away with it."

"I agree," Nico stated. "We have to stop them."

"But how?" Josh asked.

Nico and Melody turned and looked at him. "Pessimist," Melody accused.

"I'm just saying we might need a plan," Josh said defensively.

Melody looked at him blankly. "A… plan? Why would we need a _plan_?"

Josh sighed. "You're as bad as Dave, you know that?"

Melody snorted. "I'm _worse_," she said. "Dave's got _nothin'_ on me."

"Still," Josh said. "We should make a plan."

"Josh," Melody said in her best explaining-the-obvious-to-a-child voice, "A 'plan' is almost always a list of things that doesn't happen."

Nico couldn't help but smile. "So," he said, "now that we've established that we don't need a plan, how 'bout we go save people?"

Morpheus chuckled. "Good luck," he said as he melted into the shadows.


	15. Things get a little Weirder

**Chapter 15: Things Get a Little Weirder**

"Can we _please_ just make camp for the night?" Josh asked tiredly.

"Can you _please_ just stop whining?" Melody retorted.

"No, I can't. I get grumpy when I'm tired, and I'm _very_ tired."

"Well, guess who it sucks to be?"

"Well, it's not _my_ fault that _you_ won't let me take a break."

"Well, it's not _my_ fault that _you_ are a lazy-ass city boy."

"Wanting to get a full night's sleep doesn't make me lazy."

"Wanting to keep moving so the monsters can't find us doesn't make me… whatever you currently think I am."

"I think we're far enough from the last campsite —"

"I think you're making too much noise."

"_I_ think you two should stop fighting," Nico put in.

Melody glared at him. "Whose side are you on?" she demanded.

Nico held up his hands. "I'm just saying," he said. "You two are gonna attract a horde of monsters if you keep this up."

Then, quite unexpectedly, Dave fell out of the sky and executed a graceful faceplant between them.

"What in the name of—_Dave?_" Melody was stunned.

"Ow," Dave groaned. "Note to self: Megajump spell needs work." He looked up. "Well, at least the accuracy is better." A grin (a relatively sane one this time) spread across his face. "Hi there. What's up?"

Josh gaped, Nico scratched his head, and Melody snorted. "Well, interesting weather today," she said. "It's raining crazies."

Dave laughed, got up, and hugged his sister. She sighed and returned the hug, then punched him.

"Ow! What was that for?" Dave demanded, pulling away.

"You scared the hell out of me," she informed him calmly. "I thought you were about to get yourself killed."

"So did I."

"Don't do that again, 'kay?"

"'Kay…"

Josh chose that moment to tackle Dave. "You're alive!" he shouted joyfully. "You're okay! You're… a _huge idiot_, Dave. Casting a Hell-pulse in a _cave_? What's _wrong_ with you?"

"Um… lots of things. Such as the fact that I'm completely and utterly insane. Haven't you been paying attention?" he teased.

"I didn't think you were _suicidal_," Josh snapped.

"I'm _not_ suicidal," Dave replied. "Just careless. There's a difference."

Josh made an unconvinced sound. "Just be more careful, okay?" he said.

"Ummm... What is the meaning of this word, care-full?" Dave asked.

"It means don't be an idiot," Josh replied. But he couldn't really stay mad, so he allowed himself to smile slightly.

"Ummm…" Nico put in. "How in Dad's name did you escape?"

Dave grinned. "I convinced them I'm more trouble than I'm worth. And then I snuck out when their backs were turned."

"Oooookay," Nico said. "Well… What do we do now?"

"We save the other people the harpies took," Melody replied. "Duh."

"Sounds like a plan," Nico said.

Melody glared at him. "Nico, we don't _do_ plans, remember?"

"Yeah, I know," Nico said. "I'm just trying to annoy you." He grinned. "Is it working?"

"Yes it is," she admitted. "But anyway…"

"Can we make camp for the night?" Dave interrupted. "And by 'make camp' I mean find a hotel."

Melody started to object, but stopped. "Alright," she relented. "But just this once."


End file.
